Angelina Jolie makes surprise Iraq visit
Story by Jack Foley
ANGELINA Jolie has paid a surprise visit to Iraq in her capacity as a United Nations goodwill ambassador.
The Hollywood actress was in the capital Baghdad on Thursday (February 7, 2008) to help raise awareness of the 2 million people that have been displaced by the Iraq war and to generate support.
Speaking to American news channel CNN, Jolie called for more to be done to help Iraqi families driven from their homes and then held talks with UN head of mission Staffan di Mistura.
She was also due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to discuss the ongoing crisis.
As part of her trip, she also had lunch with American troops.
As part of her interview with CNN, the actress – who won an Oscar for her role in Girl, Interrupted and is Oscar nominated for her portrayal of Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart – put forward some distressing figures that explained why the world needed to take more action to ease the strain.
“Of the 2 million internally displaced, it’s estimated 58% are under 12-years-old,” she revealed. “It’s a very high number of people in a very, very vulnerable situation and a lot of young kids.
“There’s lots of goodwill and lots of discussion but there seems to be a lot of talk at the moment and a lot of pieces that need to be put together.”
Jolie concluded by pledging to urge US and Iraqi officials to work together to provide better security for UN refugee agency workers.
Jolie previously visited Iraq in August 2007, when she one again appealed for more international support to help those affected by the Iraq conflict.
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It is always great to see celebrities out and about doing something other than shopping and partying
— http://whatisrunningthroughourminds.blogspot.com/ Feb 8 #